Father Tom's Note

“What now?” That is a question that can be prompted by a whole host of circumstances. From the closest arena of family to the broadest of national or international arenas, what has happened prompts us to wonder out loud what possibly could happen next.

In our First Reading from the Scriptures this weekend, we hear Joshua address God’s People at just such a juncture. Joshua knows that their hearts are wavering, that recent events are causing them to measure the merits of and motivation to remain faithful to God. But he also knows that giving up on God in the tough times they face will mean opting for another “god” to serve. They are on the brink of realizing the awesome reality of God’s fidelity to them, but it is still their free choice to make – to remain faithful to God.

In the passage from John which we read and hear this weekend, Jesus also understands the cause of murmuring among his disciples. It is both a commitment they must make to have faith in him, as well as a gift of grace which is given them by the Father. John records honestly that some were beginning to find all that was being said, all that was happening, and all that threatened to happen to be too much for them. But when Jesus asks “the Twelve” if they, too, will leave, Peter speaks up: “Master, to whom shall we go? .... We have come to believe ....”

Finally, in this weekend’s passage from Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, “What next?” is brought very close to home, across the centuries of Church life and teaching. “Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ.” This isn’t a throwing up our hands and giving in to the power of another. This is an invitation to discover in our relationships with one another and even with the whole world around us the choices that will say we belong to Christ and that we serve Christ. In that service we serve one another.

WE are the Church, and on whatever brink we find ourselves, fidelity to God is ours to choose, and God’s choice to be faithful to us is the great mystery we profess and celebrate!